Trump May Reverse TikTok Ban Through Executive Order
President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly weighing the possibility of halting a ban on TikTok by issuing an executive order.
According to reports from CNN and The Washington Post on Wednesday (Jan. 15), the incoming administration could suspend the ban on the popular video-sharing app as early as next week, shortly after Trump takes office.
A Temporary Reprieve for TikTok Users
The proposed executive order would allow TikTok’s 170 million American users to continue accessing the platform while the administration negotiates a potential sale, CNN reported.
The ban, enacted last year due to national security concerns over TikTok's parent company, the China-based ByteDance, requires ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations by Jan. 19—one day before Trump’s inauguration. Failure to comply would force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores under the law.
Legal and Practical Challenges
Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor and former Justice Department advisor, told The Washington Post that an executive order would not automatically nullify the ban.
“Executive orders are not magical documents that make laws disappear,” Rozenshtein said. “TikTok will still be banned, and it will remain illegal for Apple and Google to do business with the company. However, the order would formalize the president’s intention to hold off on enforcing the law.”
Trump's Shift in Stance
Although Trump supported the TikTok ban as president, he has since expressed a desire to “save TikTok.” Last month, he petitioned the Supreme Court to delay the enforcement of the law to provide his administration with time to negotiate a deal to preserve the app’s presence in the U.S.
Biden’s Role and Potential Buyers
The CNN report indicates that it is unlikely, though technically possible, for the incoming Biden administration to block the ban. The law allows the president to grant a one-time extension of up to 90 days, but doing so would require demonstrating progress toward a sale of TikTok to Congress. This could prove challenging as ByteDance has maintained it is not willing to sell.
Despite ByteDance’s resistance, there are interested buyers. Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that the Chinese government is exploring the possibility of selling TikTok to billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally and owner of social media platform X.
Alternatives Gaining Traction
Meanwhile, other Chinese social media platforms have started gaining traction among U.S. users in anticipation of TikTok’s potential ban. One such platform, RedNote—known for lifestyle content like beauty and food recommendations—has reportedly attracted several hundred thousand American users in recent weeks.
The future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, but the possibility of executive action signals a temporary lifeline for the app’s millions of American users.